HealthTree Foundation Announces Real-World Data Awards for 2024

Demonstrating How HealthTree Cure Hub^® Registry is Contributing to Practice-Improving Care in Blood Cancers

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthTree Foundation, a global nonprofit uniting patients and researchers to seek cures for blood cancers, proudly announced the recipients of its 2024 Real-World Data Awards at a special reception during the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in San Diego. The awards celebrate outstanding contributions by researchers leveraging the HealthTree Cure Hub Registry to advance multiple myeloma research and improve patient care.

"The work of these dedicated researchers demonstrates the incredible potential of real-world data to transform the field of multiple myeloma and other blood cancers," said Jenny Ahlstrom, CEO and Founder of HealthTree Foundation. "We are honored to support and recognize groundbreaking projects that bring us closer to achieving our shared mission of cures."

HealthTree Innovation Award

HealthTree presented the inaugural HealthTree Innovation Award to Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP, of the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. This award recognizes exceptional contributions that leverage the power of the HealthTree Cure Hub Registry to achieve meaningful progress in blood cancer research and patient care.

"Dr. Banerjee's work exemplifies the best of innovation and collaboration," said Jay Hydren, PhD, HealthTree Senior Director of Research. "Dr. Banerjee's notable project, focused on dexamethasone use and its correlation with cataract severity, utilized targeted data sets and efficient research iteration to confirm findings supporting the "down-with-dex" movement in multiple myeloma care. His work underscores the vital role of real-world data in advancing treatment standards and improving quality of life for patients."

HealthTree Research Impact Awards

The HealthTree Research Impact Awards recognized researchers who have completed impactful projects with the HealthTree Foundation during 2024. These awards highlight the innovative use of the HealthTree Cure Hub Registry to advance understanding and treatment of blood cancers.

Recipients of the 2024 Research Impact Awards include:

• Urvi Shah, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Recognized for her studies on diet in blood cancer patients compared to the general population, the psychosocial disclosure and impact of a cancer diagnosis, and supplement use habits and perceptions in blood cancer patients.
• Morie Gertz, MD, and Nadine Abdallah, MD, Mayo Clinic: Commended for investigating delays in diagnosing AL amyloidosis.
• Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP, Fred Hutch Cancer Center: Honored for his research on the association between dexamethasone exposure and visually significant cataracts in multiple myeloma patients.
• Malek Ehasan, MD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center: Celebrated for utilizing robust machine learning to predict M-Spike levels and speed up myeloma care.
• Sikander Ailawadhi, MD, Mayo Clinic: Recognized for his systematic study validating online platforms for conducting patient surveys on awareness regarding clinical trials among multiple myeloma patients.
• Craig Hofmeister, MD, Emory University, and Karen Sweiss, PharmD, University of Illinois Cancer Center: Acknowledged for their work on pain and opioid use patterns, as well as patient-reported efficacy and safety of cannabis use in multiple myeloma patients.
• Manni Mohyuddin, MBBS, Huntsman Cancer Institute: Honored for his work on understanding patient preferences in myeloma care.

Real-World Data Awards

The HealthTree Real-World Data Awards celebrate researchers whose work using HealthTree's Real-World Data was accepted as abstracts, posters, or oral presentations at this year's ASH meeting. These honorees have showcased the immense value of real-world data in driving scientific discovery and improving patient outcomes. The 2024 recipients include:

• Malek Ehasan, MD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Morie Gertz, MD, and Nadine Abdallah, MD, Mayo Clinic
• Craig Hofmeister, MD, and Karen Sweiss, PharmD, University of Illinois
• Sikander Ailawadhi, MD, Mayo Clinic
• Rahul Banerjee, MD, FACP, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
• Manni Mohyuddin, MBBS, Huntsman Cancer Institute

About HealthTree Foundation

HealthTree Foundation is the market leader in Digital Health Advocacy and a global nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes and finding cures for blood cancers through cutting-edge technology, patient education, and research collaboration. The foundation's HealthTree Cure Hub Registry provides a powerful patient data portal where over 10,000 multiple myeloma patients contribute real-world data, enabling researchers to drive lifesaving discoveries. By uniting patients and researchers, HealthTree is revolutionizing cancer care and accelerating cures. For more information, visit healthtree.org.

SOURCE HealthTree Foundation